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The Eternal Prison
Kain infiltrated the Eternal Prison through a tunnel passage beneath Meridian, discovering it to be a place where time had no meaning. Time stood still here, enabling eternal 'experiments' to be inflicted upon the poor wretches incarcerated within. Crazed humans wandered blindly with eyes gouged from their heads. Various monsters infested the corridors. The babbling of madmen and anguished cries of the tortured echoed relentless throughout the complex. Various rooms within defied natural law, great stone slabs suspended in empty voids. Utilizing the telekinetic gift given to him by the Seer, Kain navigated this terrible place, repeatedly warned to leave by its unnatural 'wardens'. Ignoring their instructions, he pressed on until they sought to remove him by force only to be killed themselves. Continuing onward deeper into the prison, Kain located the prisoner he had come to find: The architect of the Sarafan's ultimate weapon. This individual offered gain a revelation: The weapon was not new. It was indeed the very same weapon that had been constructed during the Ancient-Hylden war, the weapon designed to channel the terrible psychic energies of the Mass and eradicate all opposing life in the world. He himself was a Hylden, his form greatly distorted by the burdens of this miserable place, and his incarceration was consequence for his part in designing the weapon. Though he was spared banishment into the demon dimension where his brethren had been exiled, he had spent untold ages trapped in a timeless prison cell and subject to any torments and agonies the wardens chose to inflict upon him. He no longer desired genocide, however, and implored Kain to destroy what he had built. The device itself was too vast and complex to shut down but the creature that served as its power source, the Mass, could be poisoned with his own corrupted blood. Welcoming the sweet release of death, he allowed Kain to drink the blood straight from his veins. With the builder's weaponized blood in his veins, Kain set out to leave the prison behind. However, he was not yet able to leave, for some manner of violent creature stalked him throughout the prison. Eventually cornered with no other choice, Kain confronted this deranged creature and ultimately defeated it. Dying, the creature appeared to regain some presence of mind. And it was then that Kain recognized his attacker. This blathering mad monstrosity had once been Kain's most trusted general Magnus. He had vanished before the battle at Meridian and, as the Sarafan ambushed their army, he was assumed to be the traitor responsible. With his final moments, Magnus denied this betrayal. He had, in fact, sought to prevent the battle entirely by sneaking away into the Sarafan camp overnight and killing the Sarafan Lord. He had failed and, for his murderous attempt, was captured and sealed away in the Eternal Prison. Astonished, Kain commended his old friend's loyalty and sacrifice before relieving his centuries-long suffering. Draining Magnus of blood, Kain gained a powerful new gift which enabled him to spontaneously engulf weaker enemies in incinerating fire. Thanking his fallen champion for this new strength, Kain returned to the caverns beneath Meridian and fed his blood to the Mass through the same machines that fed it on the Beast's healthy blood. As the Mass shriveled and died, the great weapon built around it began to collapse. Kain retreated back to the Beast's containment chamber only to find it was now free. The Beast's began to shift and the Ancient of legend, Janos Audron, was revealed. Acknowledging Kain's confusion, Janos confirmed what the Hylden builder had already hinted: The Sarafan Lord, and indeed his entire Order, were escaped Hylden working toward a genocidal victory. When Kain refused to sacrifice himself those centuries ago, the Pillars erupted and collapsed. This sudden and vast weakening of their binding magic allowed a formidable Hylden soul to slip free of the demon realm and inhabit the body of Janos Audron who, unknown to Kain, had only just been restored to life by a mysterious benefactor. This Hylden soul, also, was none other than the dark entity of Avernus who had fought Kain at the Pillars, the very same who had used Mortanius to kill Ariel and destroy the Circle of Nine. The Sarafan Lord was Hash'Ak'Gik, freed once more by Kain's spiteful condemnation of the Pillars, and still seeking the same result: The freedom of his race, and revenge upon all others. But with Janos now free, the weapon destroyed and the Mass dead, Kain had his own plans for revenge. Category:The Age of Conquest